Entrevista con - Alan Lennon

1 - The great Alan Lennon!, thanks for your time!!

2 - Please tell us about your personal history and background for the guitar fans in Mexico
I have been playing guitar for 11 years now. I started when i was 16 influenced by players such as Slash, Eddie Van Halen, Hendrix and Richie Sambora.. At the moment i teach guitar for a living and I have just released my first album "Heavens Call".

3 - What motivated you to want to learn to play the guitar?
I wanted to play since i was about 5 as i used to listen to albums my mam had. In particular Van Halens 'OU812' and Bon Jovi's 'Slippery When Wet'. Those 2 albums were a massive inspiration for me. I used to play air guitar to those albums for years,lol.

4 - Hehehe, that was cool! and what do you like to play, in this case your gear?
Well guitar wise i like to play Ibanez and Fender guitars. Also i just started endorsing an amazing new guitar from the UK named SOVEREIGN. Its got a swamp ash body and is really light but the tone and feel is perfect for me. Im not really fussy really once the guitar has a maple fingerboard. Maple has a much cleaner and snappier tone to it. Amp Wise i am usin an 'ENGL' SAVAGE 120. I cant say enough good things about that amp. Its my dream in an amp. And for strings i use Rotosound Pinks-Gauge 9 And always the heaviest picks i can lay my hands on. And for effects i use Lexicon units and the Line 6 gear.

5 - Tell us about your technique and how you developed it?
My technique? mmm... Not much to say really. I spent a lot of time working on my technique when i first started. Mainly Alternate Picking, Scales, Sequences and Arpeggios and trying to improve on my coordination. I had to be very patient, lol. Took a long time. I used to buy a lot of guitar mags and books sucking all the knowledge that i could from them. And if i ever got talking to another guitarist i would take every bit of information and advice that i could. Recently i have begun to focus more on my phrasing a bit more. Bending and Vibrato to me are the most important and greatly overlooked techniques. I think to develop a great technique you have to dedicate all of your spare time and more to it. And most importantly you have to enjoy practicing. It helps to be reclusive too, lol..

6 - Lol!.. yeah you are right!!.. When you were a kid, did you ever think that you would someday be one of the best new guitar players comming around the world?
Nope and i still dont think that, lol.. Im flattered you think so though, thank you!.

7 - Buts its true!, i think you are a great guitar player and your songs are awesome! i really enjoy your album and i got to say that your playing remembers me the big ones guitarists from 80´s and some of the 90´s with a lot of feeling. Who are your main influences?
I have soooo many influences. Mainly Jason Becker, Marty Friedman, George Lynch, Steve Vai, Jeff Beck, Shawn Lane and Neal Schon.

8 - But who is your favorite guitar player?
My Favorite is definitly Jason Becker. He is my hero for sure! Couldnt have a bigger inspiration than Jason!.

9 - Aah!! the Great Jason!, inspiration for a lot of us!.. a big hug to him!.. What projects are you currently working on?
At the moment i am preparing for a trip to Thailand where im going to be promoting my album and also doin an instruction Video hopefully. Im also going to get to play with the incredible Marty Friedman. Im still in shock. After that i dont know...

10 - Hey thats great!! Do you love doing live performances?
I dont really get the opportunites to play live much. I am at the moment putting together a band to play around the local venues which im looking forward to. We will be playing well known Rock Covers and also some of my own music. Should be fun...

11 - Let's move on to the "Heaven´s Call" record. Was this a particularly challenging album for you to make?
Not really. I had many of those songs written a long time before i recorded them so they came naturally. Some of the songs were changed a lot during the recording process though. It took a long time to get around to actually recording the album. It was an expensive experience too. We recorded all the songs in about 3 days and spent another 3 mixing them. I never knew how important the whole mixing stage was till then. It helped having my Drummer (Bryan Walsh) and Bassist (Shane McCullagh) there. It made for a good friendly and relaxed atmosphere. The engineer (Richard McCullough) was a great guy too. Incredibly tiring though as the days where really long.

12 - What´s the meaning of this record to you?
It had to be done as i was messing around with demos for years and i felt i needed to at least have one properly recorded album to represent what im all about. Its just my way of putting my foot on to the guitar scene really and letting people hear some of my music. I have soo many songs i want to record. I will spend a lot more time on trying to make the next album even better.

13 - What´s your favorite song from this new record?
I love them all of course ;) Setanta would be my favourite i guess.

14 - Have you ever done a song that you wish you could go back in time and un-do? If so, which one, and why?
I would love to redo Setanta as i have so many new and great ideas for that piece. I would like to make into a 10 minute epic piece. I will on the next album..

15 - Great!!, cant wait to listen it!!. What are your thoughts on the state of instrumental guitar these days?
I dont like a lot of the instrumental guitar music that comes out now. It all seems to concentrate on the technique. I know it did in the 80's too but the quality of the song writing has diminished so much recently. Very hard to listen to a lot of it. There is still some great stuff of course, but the majority i dont like. The technique level some players are attaining now is amazing though. So many technically able players out there...

16 - What do you think about the new crop of talented Guitar player's that are currently out there making music?
Again i think a lot of them are focused too much on their technique and their gear. Not enough on the songs. Not much point in having a great tone and technique if what your putting there out is hard to listen to. My friend Mark Gibson from the Uk is one of the most amazing players i have seen in a long time. Keep an eye out for him..

17 - When all is said and done, years from now, how would you want people to remember Alan Lennon?
Mmmmm. Alan Lennon? Isnt that the millionaire guitarist ? Just Joking! - i would like to be remembered as a guitarist who recorded some great albums that musicians and non-musicians alike can listen to. Im not fussy really, lol.

18 - Lol!!.. and what will be next for Alan Lennon?
Definitly another album but im going to concentrate on getting Heavens Call out there and get exposed to as many people who would like my music as possible. Thats the ultimate goal, for everybody who might like my music to hear it..

19 - Can we expect to see you in Mexico any time soon?.
Wouldnt that be great!!, lol. With any luck i will someday.

20 - Is there anything else you would like to share with us that I have not asked?
Nope, thats all folks. Thanks for having me....

Thanks for your time Alan all the best to you from Guitar Lords!!.